Chapter 160

After Emperor Qi Zhaodi asked a few more questions, he let Head Physician Lu go down to prepare the nourishing prescription.

When there were no outsiders in the hall, Emperor Qi Zhaodi looked at Dongfang Qi with eyes full of regret and heartache, just like a father in an ordinary family:

"How could you be so worried for no reason? Is it because I put too much pressure on you? Or is it because of your mother's affairs that you are depressed?"

Dongfang Qi felt a bit guilty about the deception and tried his best to comfort his old father: "Father Emperor, don't worry too much; maybe it will get better slowly in the future."

Emperor Qi Zhaodi sighed, thinking of his failure to his wife back then, and now his son was suffering repeatedly, which was truly heartbreaking:

"Qi'er, don't worry; no matter what the cost, I will definitely cure you."

He paused and asked again: "Lu Zheng said that heart disease needs heart medicine. You have no feeling for other women, but you look at Prince Chaolan differently, so she is your medicine?"

Dongfang Qi dared not reveal too much, lest Emperor Qi Zhaodi see the clues.

"Chaolan saved my life, and we have spent several months together day and night. When I am with her, I feel incredibly relaxed. When I walked with her on the grasslands of Beijiang, watching the stars all over the sky and stepping on the soft grass, I felt the peace of the years."

"I thought at that time, if there could be a pair of people for a lifetime in the world, maybe it would be like this?"

"I don't know if my hidden illness can still be cured, but if there is, it must be her."

He said, but then smiled helplessly: "However, she has always regarded me as a friend and has no extra thoughts for now. If Father Emperor insists that we are not suitable, I am willing to listen to Father Emperor and stop here."

"Father Emperor should also think more openly. It doesn't matter if there are descendants; anyway, there are many cousins. At worst, I can adopt a descendant from them in the future. After all, it is the royal bloodline, and it makes no difference to the ancestors."

"How can there be no difference?" Dongfang Qi retreated to advance, and Emperor Qi Zhaodi was indeed anxious.

"If you let a branch descendant inherit the throne, their biological father must be respected as the Retired Emperor while alive, and even if they are gone, they will definitely be posthumously honored as Emperor. At that time, in the Imperial Temple, the tablets of you and me, father and son, will likely be squeezed into the last corner, and even the incense of the four seasons will be thinned!"

Dongfang Qi sighed: "It is my incompetence."

At this point, no matter how reluctant Emperor Qi Zhaodi was, he couldn't use strong-arm tactics to force his son, lest it be counterproductive.

He waved his hand and said: "Forget it, forget it, Father Emperor can temporarily ignore your marriage. But your body relates to the foundation of the country; you must cooperate with the Imperial Physician to treat it!"

Dongfang Qi said obediently: "Yes."

Putting personal matters aside, Emperor Qi Zhaodi asked about Duke Li again.

"You are really messing around this time! Duke Li has many followers in the court; you actually dared to frame him and let him fall into the crime of treason!"

Dongfang Qi asked: "Father Emperor, did you see it? Then why did you..."

Emperor Qi Zhaodi sneered: "What can I do? My son is capable and dares to take action against the noble families. If I don't help you, should I wait for the Li family to counterattack?"

"It's just that, Qi'er, one Li family falls, but the other noble families will definitely have the danger of lips and teeth. If those noble families unite, even if we are the royal family, it will be difficult to handle."

Dongfang Qi said: "Father Emperor, don't worry, they won't join forces."

Emperor Qi Zhaodi asked: "Oh, why are you so sure?"

Dongfang Qi analyzed for him: "Among the Eight Great Families, the Cui, Li, Zhao, Gu, and Luo families are the biggest, and the other three are all fence-sitters. The head of the Luo family is my biological uncle, so he will naturally support me."

"Once the Li family falls, the remaining ones are Cui, Zhao, and Gu."

"Duke Cui supports the royal family. Although Duke Gu's attitude is not very clear, the Gu family has a branch, although it cannot be considered a top noble family, it is the royal merchant of our Great Qi, with amazing financial resources. Over the years, the Gu family has also relied on the financial support of this branch."

"And the current head of this branch is named Gu Nian'an, who previously received the favor of Prince Chaolan. Therefore, we can borrow his power to win over Duke Gu. At least let Duke Gu remain neutral in the Duke Li incident."

"In this way, if the Luo, Cui, and Gu families don't cause trouble, the Zhao family alone is not to be feared."

Emperor Qi Zhaodi thought about it carefully and nodded: "Father Emperor thought you were just impulsive to take action against the Li family. I didn't expect you to have considered it so thoroughly; not bad, not bad!"

But in an instant, he straightened his face and scolded his son: "I heard that you actually used your future to bet with the Li family?"

"Even if you are sure, you shouldn't use your future as a bargaining chip!"

"What if there is an accident? What are you going to do? Do you really want to abdicate for this little thing? Absurd!"

Dongfang Qi said: "Father Emperor, don't worry; since I dared to bet with them, I naturally have the certainty of winning. The Li family is already a tumor, and the sooner it is removed, the better. If you are hesitant and let the tumor grow, the disaster will be deeper. Of course..."

He smiled and said with a bit of pride: "Of course, the most important thing is that I have Father Emperor as my backing. No matter when, Father Emperor will solve my worries!"

"You are just relying on me spoiling you!" Emperor Qi Zhaodi rolled his eyes at him and waved his hand impatiently: "Things have come to this, I will naturally clean up for you. But remember, you must never take such risks again!"

"Yes, Father Emperor!"

Emperor Qi Zhaodi had already thought of a strategy to clean up for his son.

He first ordered to encourage the public to report Duke Li's crimes.

As a result, those officials and people who had been bullied by the Li family came forward to expose them one after another.

From corruption and land grabbing to treating human life like grass, and then to buying and selling official titles, the crimes committed were appalling.

Among those in high positions and with great power, how many were clean? If the Emperor was determined to eradicate the Li family, he would naturally press them to death completely, without giving them any chance to turn over!

Especially in recent years, Emperor Qi Zhaodi had also been repeatedly restrained by the noble families, so he naturally settled old and new grudges together.

Under the punishment of multiple crimes, the Li family was killed or exiled, and the family that had stood for thousands of years collapsed in just a few months.

Although the major noble families were skeptical about the Li family's treason.

The two major noble families led by Duke Cui and Duke Luo remained silent. Even Duke Gu had an attitude of "it has nothing to do with me."

Although Duke Zhao wanted to stir up trouble, the other noble families dared not act rashly again, fearing that they would be implicated.

In addition, the spy the Li family had arranged in the Xuanjing Division was also found.

That person's name was Wang Xian, originally a folk demon catcher with some skills, so he was selected to work in the Xuanjing Division.

Wang Xian was later bribed by the Li family and became their pawn.

Xie Shouzheng was very angry about this, personally brought the person to justice, and thoroughly investigated the Xuanjing Division to avoid such traitors again.

And Hong Yao made another contribution in this incident.

Dongfang Qi did a favor, offsetting merits and demerits, and exempted Hong Yao from her previous crimes.

Although Hong Yao had completely regained her freedom, she had no relatives left in the world and had nowhere to settle in the vast sea of people.

Finally, she came to Lin Qingyue and recommended herself: "Please, Miss, keep Hong Yao by your side. You have saved me several times, and I cannot repay your kindness of recreating me. I only hope to serve you tea and water in the future to express my feelings."